Makaravilakku is a fire lit by the

Travancore Devaswom Board Travancore Devaswom Board is statutory and autonomous body managing around 1252 temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the ...

secretly on the Makara Jyothi day for 3 times at ponnambalamedu with the help of Forest department, KSEB,

Kerala police The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperament, ...

and other agencies of

Government of Kerala The Government of Kerala (abbreviated as GoK), also known as the Kerala Government, is the administrative body responsible for governing the Indian States and territories of India, state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who ...

. It can be seen from Sabarimala beneath the celestial star

Sirius Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word (Latin script: ), meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbr ...

. Ponnambalamedu is at a height of 1170m and sabarimala is at a height of 544m above mean sea level. The festival includes the Thiruvabharanam (sacred ornaments of the deity Ayyappan) procession and a congregation at the hill shrine of Sabarimala. An estimated half a million devotees flow to Sabarimala every year to view the fire. Raman Nair, who headed the Devaswom Board under the Congress government said “It’s the police and officials of the Travancore Devaswom Board who would jointly light the fire at Ponnambalamedu on the orders of the state government” This lighting of the flame at the summit of the hill marks the finale of the pilgrimage season at Sabarimala which lasts about two months. This flame is lit at the time of ''Deeparathana'' at the Sabarimala temple. The flame is lit using camphor at the summit. Makaravilakku, which was thought to be a miraculous event by most visiting pilgrims, was later proven to be a "make-believe" hoax, being lit by members of the

and local police.

Makaravilakku organisers

Makaravilakku is a part of a religious ritual that was practiced since the past by the Malayaraya tribe who are believed to be the descendants of Malayaman Kaari in the forest of Ponnambalamedu (the place where Makaravilakku appears) and then later secretly continued by The

(TDB). It has been practiced for more than hundreds of years by the tribes and no supernatural elements are associated with it. The name refers to the lighting of a bright "vilakku" (lamp) three times atop Ponnambalamedu.

References

January Hindu festivals in Kerala Festivals in Pathanamthitta district Ayyappan {{Kerala-stub